HERMANTOWN — One of the companies involved in bringing a proposed data center to Hermantown requested to have its permits removed from future agendas.
In a Nov. 10 letter posted on Hermantown’s data center project webpage, Dan Lessor with Minneapolis-based Mortenson Development wrote that his team is taking “the public’s requests for more information seriously” and plans to host an open house to facilitate open dialogue on the project. No date or venue has yet been announced.
"The project team understands the significance of the proposed project, not just as an infrastructure investment, but as a long-term relationship with residents, business owners, the City of Hermantown, St. Louis County and the greater Northland region," he wrote.
Hermantown officials already approved a re-zone for the project area, near Minnesota Power’s Arrowhead substation, after approving what’s called an Alternate Urban Areawide Review, or AUAR, for what they called “light industrial development.”
That action was challenged in court earlier this month, with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy joining the grassroots “Stop the Hermantown Data Center” group to demand further environmental review for the large-scale data center.
Development on the project has reportedly stalled since the city responded to an October petition for an environmental assessment worksheet.
Opponents of the project claim there has not been enough transparency with the process, citing public officials in Hermantown and St. Louis County signing non-disclosure agreements, and data requests indicating that city staffers described "Project Loon" as a data center almost a year before it became public knowledge.
The property is known to contain at least one designated trout stream, and the project proposes about a million square feet of development in what is currently a forested parcel.
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Plus: Ruby's Pantry will cease operations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa; Hermantown will accept public comment on a study for the proposed Google data center through April 30; and the Soudan Mine State Park will offer underground mine tours beginning Memorial Day weekend. -
Contributed/Ruby's Pantry - BemidjiRuby's Pantry, a faith-based nonprofit coordinating monthly pop-up food events with local churches, including 11 in Northern Minnesota, closed its operations as of March 31, 2026. -
Contributed/NWSHeavy and wet snow, freezing rain and mixed precipitation are possible. Highest snowfall rates of around one-quarter to a half-inch per hour are expected during the daytime April 2, 2026. -
Flooding in June 2024 closed the underground mine to tours for nearly two years, following another two-year closure in 2022 for restoration. -
Contributed/Minnesota Chippewa TribeCandidates who receive more than 50% of the vote in the primary win their elections; otherwise, the top two vote-getters face off in a general election June 9, 2026. -
Plus: Two local elementary schools meet their fates, with Bemidji's J.W. Smith set to remain open for at least a year, while Greenhaven in Hibbing will close.
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Contributed/Meal Train for the Rife Family Adult Foster CareKimberly Soon Jim Rife, 39, died, and her 13-year-old daughter suffered life-threatening injuries. Rife ran an adult foster care and coordinated a program to help hungry students. -
Contributed/Nicole Neri / Minnesota ReformerEven during the most intense immigration enforcement in Minnesota, however, immigration authorities were arresting nearly triple the number of immigrants in Texas. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEA motion to close and consolidate the Bemidji school, dispersing students to other area elementaries serving kindergarten through third grade, failed to pass on a 3-3 vote. -
Contributed/City of HermantownThe city and Google jointly agreed to an updated alternative urban areawide review study with a smaller geographic footprint than last fall’s study.
